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Come by the Hills

(Music: Traditional Gaelic [Buachaill On Eirne];Words: Gordon Smith)

D               A            D               G            D
Come by the hills to the land where fancy is free,
D                      G                    D                G                    Em
Stand where the peaks meet the sky and the lochs meet the sea,
                A           G                  A              G          Em
Where the rivers run clear and the bracken is gold in the sun,
      D         G                      D           G             D
And the cares of tomorrow must wait till this day is done.

Come by the hills to the land where life is a song,
And sing where the birds fill the air with their joy all day long,
Where the trees sway in time and even the wind sings in tune,
And the cares of tomorrow must wait till this day is done.

Come by the hills to the land where legends remain,
Where glories of old fill our hearts and may yet come again,
Where the past has been lost, but the future is still to be won,
And the cares of tomorrow must wait till this day is done.

Instrumental Repeat V 1

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The earliest recording found is the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem record Bold Fenian Men, Columbia CS 9805 in 1966, noting words by Gordon Smith to the above tune. Since then it has been recorded by many people including Jean Redpath, Gordon Bok and Anne Mayo Muir. Ensemble Galilei has an instrumental only recording on their Follow the Moon CD, Dorian DIS-80139, 1995. Lovely tune, inspiring and comforting words - "the cares of tomorrow must wait 'til this day is done".

There was an early 60s collaboration by Paddie Bell(pre Corries) and The Fureys. Paddie actually did the vocal on Come By The Hills, though Finbar and Eddie are well represented on the album. Important to note that the producer was GORDON SMITH, who penned the words.

It is my understanding that Gordon Smith was the brother of Bill Smith, a founding member of the Corries, and that he wrote the song for a TV program.